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RBI Issues Guidelines On Authentication Mechanisms For Digital Payment Transactions
 "RBI Issues Guidelines On Authentication Mechanisms For Digital Payment Transactions")
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday released draft guidelines on the authentication mechanism framework for digital payment transaction authentication that will come into effect from April 1, 2026.
The Central Bank said the feedback from the public has been examined and suitably incorporated in the final directions.
The directions focus on encouraging introduction of new factors of authentication by leveraging upon technological advancements.
The framework, however, does not call for discontinuation of SMS-based OTP as an authentication factor.
The aim is also to enable issuers to adopt additional risk-based checks beyond the minimum two-factor authentication based on the fraud risk perception of the underlying transaction and facilitate interoperability and open access to technology, along with delineating the responsibility of Issuers.
The draft guidelines also mandate card issuers to validate AFA in non-recurring cross-border CNP transactions whenever such a request is raised by the overseas merchant or acquirer.
The RBI says that all digital payment transactions in India are required to meet the norm of two factors of authentication. While no specific factor was mandated for authentication, the digital payments ecosystem has primarily adopted SMS-based One Time Password (OTP) as the additional factor.
“All digital payment transactions shall be authenticated by at least two distinct factors of authentication, unless exempted. Issuers may, at their discretion, offer a choice of authentication factors to their customers in compliance with these directions,” according to the RBI.
“It shall be ensured that for digital payment transactions, other than card present transactions, at least one of the factors of authentication is dynamically created or proven, i.e., the proof of possession of the factor, being sent as part of the transaction, is unique to that transaction. The factor of authentication shall be such that compromise of one factor does not affect reliability of the other,” it further added.
Also, system providers and system participants will offer authentication or tokenisation service that is accessible to all the applications and token requestors functioning in that operating environment for all use cases and channels or token storage mechanisms.
Central banks across the world have joined together to declare that they stand in “full solidarity” with the Federal Reserve’s chair after the US launched a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell.
The heads of the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada are among 11 senior bankers who have signed a statement highlighting the importance of independence in setting interest rates.
“Chair Powell has served with integrity, focused on his mandate and an unwavering commitment to the public interest,” they said.
The Department of Justice is conducting the probe. President Donald Trump has said he did not “know anything” about the investigation.
The probe is linked to testimony Powell gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings.
It follows a year of relentless attacks on the Fed chair by Trump.
As well as criticising Powell’s decisions on interest rates, Trump has made personal comments, calling the Fed chair a “major loser” and a “numbskull”.
Commenting on the Fed chair, the global central bankers said in their joint statement: “To us, he is a respected colleague who is held in the highest regard by all who have worked with him.”
Until the weekend, Powell had stayed largely silent in the face of Trump’s attacks but on Sunday, he publicly pushed back and warned that the independence of the US central bank was at stake.
“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” Powell said.
In their joint statement on Tuesday, the senior financial institutions said: “The independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve.
“It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability.”
Powell, who Trump nominated as Fed chair in 2017 during his first term in the White House, is set to step down in May.
Trump is expected to name his successor in the coming weeks.
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican who is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said he would oppose the nomination of Powell’s replacement by Trump, and any other Fed Board nominee, until the matter was “fully resolved”.
Powell has also been backed by three former chairs of the Fed – Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan. A number of other eminent former officials have publicly declared their support for him and the bank’s independence.
Yellen, who was Powell’s immediate predecessor, said the criminal investigation was “extremely chilling”, adding that investors should be concerned.
“You have a president that says the Fed should be cutting rates to lower rate payments on the federal debt… It is the road to banana republic,” she told CNBC.
The signatories in full are:
- Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England
- Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank
- Erik Thedéen, governor of Sveriges Riksbank
- Christian Kettel Thomsen, chairman of the Danmarks Nationalbank
- Martin Schlegel, chairman of the Swiss National Bank
- Michele Bullock, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia
- Tiff Macklem, governor of the Bank of Canada
- Chang Yong Rhee, governor of the Bank of Korea
- Gabriel Galípolo, governor of the Banco Central do Brasil
- François Villeroy de Galhau, chair of the Bank for International Settlements
- Pablo Hernández de Cos, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements
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Indian benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, were higher at the open as investors have their eyes peeled for the US-India trade talks
Stock Market Today
Sensex Today: Indian benchmark indices — the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty — extended their decline on Tuesday as investors stayed cautious ahead of the much-awaited US–India trade talks. On Monday, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor had said that the two countries would engage in discussions today.
At 1:00 PM, the Sensex was trading at 83,428, down 450 points or 0.54 per cent, while the Nifty 50 slipped 128 points, or 0.50 per cent, to 25,661.
Eternal, Tech Mahindra, SBI, BEL, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Titan Company, ICICI Bank, ITC and Axis Bank were among the top gainers, rising up to 3 per cent.
On the other hand, L&T, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, M&M, Trent, TCS, IndiGo, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were trading in the red.
In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap index declined 0.76 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap index bucked the trend to trade 0.24 per cent higher.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Media, IT and select financial stocks led the gains. However, most other sectors were under pressure, with Nifty Realty, Pharma and Consumer Durables emerging as the top laggards, each down over 1 per cent.
Global Cues
Asian markets were trading in the green as investors looked past geopolitical tensions in Iran and Venezuela, as well as the criminal investigation into US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Mainland China’s CSI 300 gained 0.54 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.32 per cent, and South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.04 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei surged 3.22 per cent amid reports that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party may dissolve the Lower House this month for a snap election in February.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones closed at fresh record highs overnight. The S&P 500 edged up 0.16 per cent, the Dow gained 0.17 per cent, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.26 per cent. Investors are now awaiting the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December, scheduled for release later today.
Separately, US President Donald Trump stated on Monday evening that any country doing business with Iran will face a 25 per cent US tariff.
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January 13, 2026, 09:02 IST
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New Delhi: India appears to be in a Goldilocks phase of high growth and low inflation, a report said on Tuesday, with economists urging a shift towards a near‑neutral policy.
The report from HSBC Global Investment Research said that a near‑neutral policy, combining fiscal restraint with continued monetary ease, would best support markets and the broader economy in 2026.
“A combination of tight fiscal and easy monetary policy which creates a better economic balance should be positive for all asset classes,” it said.
The research firm, however cautioned that underlying weaknesses such as insufficient corporate investment and foreign inflows must be carefully addressed.
Bond markets have already priced higher state borrowing for early 2026, and that RBI bond purchases, fiscal prudence in the budget and potential global bond‑index inclusion could attract foreign inflows, the report said.
The report further stated that equities may gain from recent reform momentum, rising nominal GDP and more reasonable valuations, and cautioned that durable gains require structural reforms to boost corporate capex and foreign investment.
Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist and Strategist, argued that the research firm’s estimate suggests inflation will remain just under the 4 per cent target next year, removing pressure on the Reserve Bank of India to tighten and leaving room for further easing if growth softens.
“In fact, there is space for further easing if growth dips. And this is where we are polar opposite of what markets are currently expecting (tight monetary policy, loose fiscal policy),” Bhandari noted.
There is a lot going on globally that impacts Indian markets, such as news on tariffs and bond index inclusion, and steepening DM yield curves, she added.
The central government aims to lower public debt ratios to pre-pandemic levels by FY31, which will require continued fiscal consolidation over the next five years.
The report highlighted that such consolidation at the central level could restore balance and be offset by privatisation to limit growth drag.
Public debt ratios are expected to rise in several states despite the 3 per cent fiscal ceiling which will keep deficits in check, the report said.
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